


What is Love?

by wingsatmidnight



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 20:58:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3992632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingsatmidnight/pseuds/wingsatmidnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What exactly is love to Shizuo and Izaya? Otherwise known as small bits of the fluff that make up Shizaya</p>
            </blockquote>





	What is Love?

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in a while and I just got into DRRR and since it's summer break, I thought why the hell not.

_Love is waking up to warmth in your arms_

Over the years, Shizuo’s become accustomed to waking up to soft black hair brushing against his nose. It doesn’t matter whose bed they fell asleep in the previous night, Izaya is never able to resist snuggling up to the warmth that is Shizuo’s chest at night. Considering Izaya’s odd working hours and his tendency to sleep very little, Shizuo’s impressed that they always wake up in the same position with Izaya’s head tucked neatly under the blonde’s chin. He’s always reluctant to wake Izaya in the morning, knowing that the informant had probably only crawled into bed several hours before. Yet, it doesn’t feel right to leave Izaya asleep by himself, so Shizuo always stays by his side until red eyes blink open, hair an adorable mess.

Shizuo’s heard Izaya talk in his sleep before, mostly soft murmurs about what’s happening in his dreams and occasionally a soft ‘Shizu-chan’ falls from his lips. He looks much younger and so much more innocent when he’s asleep, face completely open and readable. Shizuo always smiles and tucks the memories away, not wanting to let any of these moments slip by. What Shizuo has never seen is Izaya sleep nude. Even after passionate nights, the least Izaya wears is a loose shirt and underwear. When questioned, Izaya admitted that he feels too vulnerable (“and Shizu-chan’s shirts are too comfortable”) to sleep naked. Shizuo accepts his explanation. Years of working as an informant have trained the smaller to appear as invulnerable as possible.

Probably Shizuo’s favourite part of waking up every morning is feeling Izaya’s fingers lightly curled in the fabric of his shirt just above his heart as if to claim it as his. Shizuo smiles at the little gesture every morning. Izaya doesn’t need to be so possessive; Shizuo’s heart and soul already belong to the man in his arms.

 

_Love is the tenderness of a kiss_

Their kisses used to be whirlwinds of teeth, tongue and lips battling for dominance; the lithe informant against the strongest man of Ikebukuro. But that was all back when they were younger and admittedly stupider. 

Izaya has since discovered the gentle softness of Shizuo’s kisses. He craves them as if they were the most addictive drug in existence. He just can’t get enough of the tenderness hiding beneath the brute force that was Shizuo. If he’d known Shizuo had such a human side to him, maybe they’d have started dating sooner but in his naiveness, he’d only seen Shizuo as a being of anger, violence and later lust. Hell he’d even doubted his own capacity to love someone this much.

Now he tugs Shizuo down for soft kisses whenever he feels like it: in the morning, before they both leave for work, when they come home, before they sleep and sometimes when they meet on the streets. Shizuo often tells him that he’s too demanding but Izaya doesn’t care and Shizuo always relents. Izaya’s never been addicted to anything before but he’s finally admitted that tender kisses make the top of the list of things about Shizuo he’s addicted to.

 

_Love is a passionate chase_

Life in Ikebukuro would never be normal without a blonde man in a bartender’s uniform chasing a lithe figure in a black fur-trimmed jacket. Thus, Shizuo and Izaya continued their epic chases even after they started dating. They start pretty much the same way, Izaya giving his best smirk to shouts of “I-ZA-YA!”

But now instead of threats such as “I told you to stay out of Ikebukuro”, Shizuo’s shouts consist of “I told you I’d come over to Shinjuku today” or “What do you mean you’ll be busy all of next week” accompanied by Izaya’s exhilarated laughter and an annoying “Catch me and I’ll tell you”. Some things never change and they’re both glad that these chases are still part of their lives.

When they’re both exhausted, they often end up on rooftops, legs dangling over the edge as Izaya leans into Shizuo’s side and they watch the sunset. Before they officially started dating, it was through these rooftop chats that Shizuo learnt more about Izaya. The smaller had never really opened up much about himself before, most definitely not to his sworn enemy but once they began seeing each other, things changed and Izaya learned to let his walls down around Shizuo.

Shizuo calls these chases impromptu dates and Izaya just grins (“Ever the romantic, Shizu-chan”). They’ve never been able to give up chasing each other through the streets before and they’ll probably never ever give it up until they’re too old to be scaling walls and executing parkour moves (“Of course it’ll never happen to you, Shizu-chan, but one of these days I’ll really break something”). Shizuo smiles and nods but he’s never giving up rooftop dates.

 

_Love is compromise_

Izaya admits that he and Shizuo are as different as North from South but even if these differences didn’t stop them from falling in love, they still had to learn their way around each other’s likes and dislikes. Izaya hates sweet things and dairy products but these just happen to be the very things Shizuo loves. He still remembers the incredulous look on Namie’s face the first he told her to buy some milk for his apartment.

He’s since learnt to pick up as much milk as possible because Shizuo’s more than capable of polishing off one carton every day. Izaya teases that Shizuo will turn into a cow one of these days if he drinks that much milk, even buying him a cow-patterned onesie as a gag gift for their first Christmas together (Shizuo will never admit that it’s actually comfortable on cold nights). Izaya can’t stand dairy products himself, but the satisfied look that spreads itself across Shizuo’s face after he downs a glass of milk is something that always brings a smile to Izaya’s face.

Izaya also learns to tolerate sweet things in small quantities though he makes sure that the first Valentines Day they spend together is the first and last time Shizuo buys him milk chocolates. He’d rather taste the sweetness off Shizuo’s lips when they kiss than actually eat sweet things himself.

 

 _Love is acceptance, no matter who your partner is_  

Shizuo’s never been able to shake off the feline image he has of Izaya. The smaller has always had the air of a cat about him. Proud, aloof and independent all the way throughout high school and well into their adult lives. Even now, when Izaya’s working and he gets that superior smirk on his lips, Shizuo thinks of him as a small cat hell-bent on achieving world domination. Even the way he watches people reminds Shizuo of a cat watching its prey, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce and cause disturbance in Ikebukuro.

Shizuo still sees Izaya as a cat, but this time the more domestic image of a housecat comes to mind. It isn’t uncommon for Izaya to demand attention the same way a cat does, silently tugging on Shizuo’s sleeve until the blonde looks at him or if the smaller is feeling particularly affectionate, nuzzling Shizuo’s chest. Shizuo had never pegged Izaya as someone who would crave attention and affection but it seemed that once he’d broken down the barriers between them, they learned to love and Izaya demands Shizuo’s attention on a regular basis.

There was one incident where Izaya frivolously purchased a pair of cat ear clips and wore them while waiting for Shizuo to come home from work just to see the expression on his face. When Shizuo finally got home, Izaya had fallen asleep on the couch, curled up just like the small cat Shizuo often pictured him as. The taller just gently ruffled his hair until he woke up, yawning and stretching before flopping over Shizuo’s lap, demanding to feel his fingers running through dark hair. Shizuo remembers the incident clearly and sometimes he wonders where those clips disappeared to.

 

_Love is trying new things_

Izaya has never been a great cook. Before Shizuo, he always had Namie cook his meals for him, not wanting to risk burning down his apartment. Shinra has tried to persuade him to learn how to at least cook for himself. If even Celty without her head could cook, then Izaya could learn too.

The first time he tries baking for Shizuo, the recipe goes horribly wrong and his rock cakes turn out like actual rocks. He’s surprised that Shizuo doesn’t break any teeth trying to eat them. Of course, he grins and pretends it was all part of his plan to try and get Shizuo to take him out for dinner, tugging him out the door and demanding ootoro. His next attempt doesn’t show much improvement and his frustration begins to get the better of him.

The next time he visits Shizuo, he has a bag of groceries in tow and an unshakeable determination to get this recipe right. After a couple of hours of Izaya furiously muttering to himself and fiercely declining any offers for help, Shizuo decides it’s probably best for him to leave Izaya alone for a while under the pretext of going out to buy milk. When Shizuo comes back, he’s faced with the sight of his kitchen doused in foam from the fire extinguisher in Izaya’s hands. He suspects he should be thankful he still has an apartment after the apparent disaster that was Izaya’s cooking. Shizuo pacifies Izaya with a soft kiss to his forehead and a promise of dinner at Russia Sushi. He also extracts a promise that Izaya never tries to cook for him again, earning him an indignant swat at his shoulder.

 

_Love is giving everything…_

Love is something Shizuo will never tire of, every day bringing new things. He remembers the first time he woke up with Izaya in his arms, at first confused about the warmth snuggled there. He tentatively brought a hand up to brush aside the dark hair falling across closed eyes so he could study the smaller’s sleeping face. It had taken the better part of a year to finally convince Izaya to stay the night; the informant was usually too skittish for prolonged physical contact.

Before Izaya wakes, Shizuo smiles and murmurs a soft phrase, determined to give the rest of his life to Izaya.

 

_Izaya, I love you._

 

_... and receiving everything in return_

Love is something Izaya thought he’d tire of eventually, falling into the normalcy that bored him. The first time he woke up in Shizuo’s arms proved him wrong. He felt secure as he let the blonde run his fingers through his hair, subtly shifting closer to the warmth of his chest. It had taken a year before Izaya dropped his act and finally allowed Shizuo to tug him away from the door and back to bed, cocooned in the warmth of strong arms. Shizuo is the only person allowed to touch Izaya, to hold him close and make him feel safe.

Shizuo always thought that Izaya was asleep the first time he murmured that soft phrase. Izaya makes sure Shizuo is asleep the first time he murmurs it back. He doesn’t make promises easily but Izaya promises his life to Shizuo.

 

_I love you too, Shizuo._

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of feelings.


End file.
